Managing Swiss Hospitality: How cultural antecedents of innovation and customer-oriented value systems can influence performance in the hotel industry

Research into innovativeness and customer orientation in the service industry is burgeoning, yet our understanding of the antecedents and consequences of both activities in hospitality management remain unclear. To address this problem we investigate the link between corporate culture, indicators of innovativeness and business performance in the Swiss hotel industry, because the Swiss have a proclivity toward innovation as well as a long established record in hospitality management. Data were generated from 96 businesses in the hotel industry and the results were analysed using structural equation modeling. They suggest that cultural dimensions are positively associated with customer orientation, innovativeness, and company performance. The implications of the findings are discussed along with limitations and future research directions.     

Effective communication styles for the customer-oriented service employee: Inducing dedicational behaviors in luxury restaurant patrons

The goals of this study were (1) to identify the optimal facets of communication style for customer-oriented service employees and (2) to examine the ways in which the customer-oriented service employee (COSE) induces luxury restaurant patrons’ dedicational behaviors. Customer dedicational behaviors are defined as ‘a set of active and positive customer voluntary behaviors towards a business induced by high relationship quality’. Based on the existing body of communication literature, nine types of communication styles were derived. Theoretical relationships between the nine communication styles and the COSE also were developed via literature review, and causal relationships between the COSE and three different types of consumer dedicational behavior styles were subsequently suggested. By integrating the derived theoretical hypotheses, a conceptual model was proposed and then tested utilizing data collected from 527 luxury restaurant patrons. The results of data analysis revealed that five types of communication styles (attentive, friendly, impression leaving, open, and relaxed) bear a positive impact on COSE, while one communication style (contentious) bears a negative impact. It was also found that the customer-oriented service employee plays a critical role in inducing three types of dedicational behaviors in consumers: enhancement, cooperation, and advocacy. The key theoretical and managerial implications of these findings are discussed in the latter part of this article.     

Empowerment in hospitality organizations: Customer orientation and organizational support

Although empowering employees has often been prescribed as an efficient strategy for hospitality organizations, the strategy alone cannot ensure success. Individual and organizational factors should be considered to increase employees’ perception of empowerment. This study examines the impact of employees’ customer orientation and organizational factors on the employee empowerment perceptions. Our findings, based on a survey of 203 guest contact employees, suggest that organizations should hire customer oriented people, guide them with service training, provide a reward system, and facilitate service standards communication in order to increase perceived empowerment. Implications of these findings for hospitality service managers are discussed.     

建立以市场为导向的风险投资机制

加速科技成果向现代生产力转化是当前我国经济发展的战略性问题。针对我国风险投资发展现状,提出必须建立以市场为导向的风险投资机制．即建立多元化的社会筹资机制。政府风险投资基金．有实力的大型企业集团投资,社会公众的创业基金,国外资金,都可以作为风除投资的本源;建立责、权、利相结合的资金运作机制,提高风险企业的市场运作能力,建立风险企业合理的经营机制;建立有效的资本退出变现机制,包括企业或资产公开上市和产权转让两个主要方面。     

战略成本动因分析的应用模式研究

战略成本管理是战略管理理论与成本管理的有机结合所形成的一门新的学科,对于加强企业的成本管理具有极其深远的意义。而在战略成本管理中,成本动因分析对于提升战略成本管理的效果具有重要的作用。文章着重分析了战略成本动因的内涵和特点、战略成本动因分析的现实意义、成本动因的选择原则和战略成本动因分析在战略成本管理中的应用模式等问题。     

战略性新兴产业上市公司金融支持效率及其影响因素研究

培育战略性新兴产业是当前我国促进经济结构转变,顺应世界经济发展趋势的必然选择。本文运用DEA方法测度战略性新兴产业金融支持效率,以此为基础构建金融支持效率影响因素模型。实证研究表明,市场性金融支持行为在经济波动期存在效率缺失;金融支持效率的实现伴随风险的增高;在间接融资驱动力不足情况下,直接融资成为战略性新兴产业发展的主要支撑。分析结果认为,提高战略性新兴产业金融支持效率需要充分发挥政策金融的引导作用,突出银行的支持功能,推进金融服务多元化,提高产业的风险抵御能力。     

The influence of service orientation discrepancy between managers and employees on employees’ affective outcomes

This study attempted to relate service orientation discrepancy (SOD) between employees and managers to employees’ affective reactions [role conflict (RC), role ambiguity (RA), job satisfaction (JS), and organizational commitment (OC)] in the restaurant industry. The findings of the study indicate that there is a SOD between managers and employees; employees saw themselves as more enthusiastic and less bureaucratic than managers. When this SOD was correlated with employee outcomes such as RC, RA, JS, and OC, the results indicated that SOD had a direct effect on RC, JS and OC. SOD also had indirect effects on JS, and OC through RC and RA. RC had a direct effect on JS and an indirect effect on OC. RA had a direct effect on JS. Finally, JS had a direct effect on OC.     

An Empirical Study of Corporate Entrepreneurship in Hospitality Companies

This study tests the model of the relationship between corporate entrepreneurship and strategic management, developed for the manufacturing industry by Barringer and Bluedorn (1999 Barringer, B. R. and Bluedorn, A. C. 1999. The relationship between corporate entrepreneurship and strategic management. Strategic Management Journal, 20: 421–444. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), in the hospitality industry. The findings show some similar and different results from the research of Barringer and Bluedorn (1999 Barringer, B. R. and Bluedorn, A. C. 1999. The relationship between corporate entrepreneurship and strategic management. Strategic Management Journal, 20: 421–444. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Like manufacturing companies, hospitality companies perceive that corporate entrepreneurship is influenced by four strategic planning practices: environmental scanning intensity, planning flexibility, planning horizon, and locus of planning. Hospitality companies, however, consider that financial controls, not strategic controls, positively influence corporate entrepreneurship intensity. These findings have practical applications for hospitality corporations that are attempting to become more entrepreneurial, and will also help researchers to better understand the relationship of corporate entrepreneurship and strategic planning.     

The Role of Market Orientation in Managing Crises During the Post-Crisis Phase

SUMMARY

The tourism business around the world, as one of the most susceptible and vulnerable sectors, must often manage and survive global crises. In recent years the global tourism industry has experienced major crises, such as terrorist attacks, political instability, economic recession, biosecurity threats and natural disasters. The most well-known cases bear testimony to the fact that crises are not new to the tourism industry. However, tourism management capabilities and abilities to deal with complex and critical situations are limited. The time has come to develop an understanding of factors that can help tourism businesses prepare a way of getting through such crises by examining the role of market orientation and its antecedents during a post-crisis phase. This paper is concerned with the effects of several organizational factors on market orientation in airlines during the post-crisis phase of the terrorist attacks of “9/11.” The results indicate that top management factors, interdepartmental factors and organizational systems have a positive effect on market orientation after a crisis has occurred.     

上海旅游业培育成战略性支柱产业的要求、路径、潜力与对策研究

在＂十二五＂期间,我国各级政府如何加快实现把旅游业培育成国民经济战略性支柱产业这一目标？这是一个具有重要理论与实践价值的课题。文章选择上海市为研究对象,对把旅游业培育成为国民经济战略性支柱产业的四大问题进行系统研究：（1）旅游业培育成战略性支柱产业的含义与带动要求;（2）上海旅游产业发展的相对位置与成为战略性支柱产业的发展路径;（3）上海旅游业培育成战略性支柱产业的发展潜力;（4）上海旅游业培育成战略性支柱产业的对策。文章的研究思路、方法与成果不仅对上海,而且对全国各地如何把旅游产业培育成战略性支柱产业,具有普遍的参考意义。